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Enterprise, Number 6, March 1996.
Put a Thorn in the Side of Congress
by Robert B. Boardman
Exclusive to The Libertarian Enterprise
Rob Thorn is co-host of the "Voice of Freedom," a staunchly patriotic radio talk show on Houston's KENR (1070 AM) on Sunday evenings. It has been on the air for over a year, and Liberty News recently agreed to sponsor it over the Eagle Radio Network, which transmits the audio feed via satellite to stations across the country. Rob reports that since going to "the bird," feedback has been received from individuals in eighteen states, England, and two South American countries.
And now, Rob Thorn has declared as Libertarian Party candidate for the U. S. House of Representatives for Texas District 8, a largely suburban and rural district roughly north and northwest of Houston. The incumbent, Republican Jack Fields, is not running for re-election.
I interviewed Rob the morning after his appearance on a local television news program, where he discussed the Michael New court ruling.
Boardman: Rob, the platform of the Libertarian Party covers a lot of ground. Is there a subset of it that you want to highlight for your campaign?
Thorn: The things that seem most important to me are: First, we should abolish the Federal Reserve System and seize its assets, as a first step to restoring a sound money system. Their assets were gained by fraud, and there are constitutional provisions by which we could buy back the Federal Reserve.
Secondly, we should terminate the emergency powers held by the Executive Branch since at least 1934; when we do that, we'll be taking a meataxe to the federal government, because most of what it does is unconstitutional. Roosevelt in his inauguration said that if he could not get Congress to agree to his New Deal, he would ask them for broad sweeping powers that would give him the same authority as if we were at war with a foreign foe. Two weeks later, they gave him those powers. Then he established socialism in the United States. This was the beginning of the New Deal.
The Supreme Court a few years later ruled the New Deal unconstitutional. Roosevelt turned around and stacked the Supreme Court; he added a couple of justices to give him the vote that he needed and then the Supreme Court said it was a political issue and they couldn't deal with it. Twice since then, Congress has done their best to try to rescind the emergency powers, but now they say only the President -- when they gave him these powers it was written in there that only the President could declare when the emergency is over -- can rescind them. And we've had 8 or 9 administrations from the Republican and Democratic parties and nobody seems to want to address the issue. Congress says they don't have the authority to rescind it; I say they do. I say they have it through the impeachment power, which they still have; and we learned as late as Nixon that they knew they have it. I think that what they need to do is start impeachment proceedings.
Third, we need to restore the Second Amendment and secure our arms rights. And fourth, we should conduct real investigations of the Gulf War Syndrome and of the Oklahoma City bombing.
After those projects are underway, then we'll begin to phase out all federal entitlement programs.
Boardman: You're going to do all that in your first term?
Thorn: There won't be a second term. I don't believe it's possible to do two terms unless you're willing to wheel and deal.
Boardman: What new legislation would you propose?
Thorn: My philosophy on legislation comes down to this: no new laws. Don't vote for anything, really. Vote against anything that comes up. The fact is, virtually every activity in the country is illegal today. I could summarize it this way: America was a great nation at one time, and it was a great nation with very few laws. And in order to restore greatness to America, I don't think you need to pass a single law; I think you can do it by removing bad ones.
Boardman: How goes the campaign for your first and only term?
Thorn: We're going to have a kickoff rally on February 17, a Saturday afternoon, at the Holiday Inn (formerly the Ramada Inn), 7787 Katy Freeway in Houston. The speakers will be Dr. Norris Austin, educator and expert on the Constitution; Joyce Riley, founder of the Gulf War Veterans Association; Larry Becraft, the Constitutional Attorney who has received national acclaim for more than once beating the IRS; and Eugene Schroeder, President of the American Agricultural Movement and a member of the board of the American Freedom Coalition. Two other people are tentatively scheduled: Larry Pratt, President of Gun Owners of America; and Steve Stockman, the Republican U.S. Congressman.
By the way, my email address is [email protected].
Boardman: How's the competition?
Thorn: A mixed bag. The Democrat in this district is usually a throw-away candidate. On the Republican side, however, we have Daniel New, father of Michael New, in addition to Gene Fontenot. And there's an independent running by the name of Jack Jackaran, author of "Debt Virus," who is the most libertarian independent I've ever met.
Boardman: What is your campaign strategy?
Thorn: I don't believe Americans are as stupid as the Democrats and Republicans obviously think they are. I think the reason they've voted the idiots into the House and the Senate that they've put there is because they haven't had a choice. When the Libertarians have given them a choice, I think that we've fallen badly short:. We haven't campaigned hard. And we have campaigned fair. I don't intend to do that. I intend to call an idiot an idiot. I intend to call a stupid idea a stupid idea. Better than anything else, I intend to call a traitor a traitor. This will not be a polite campaign.
Boardman: Good luck, Congressman!
Robert B. Boardman is the author of sf novels Savior of Fire, published by Blue Note Books, and The Trashers, as yet unpublished. He is currently managing director of the Nepenthe Project, a startup center in Houston for making liberty-oriented movies and videos. He is also Treasurer of the Committee to Elect Rob Thorn, who is running for US Congress. email: [email protected]
Don't sacrifice Principles to Politics! The Libertarian party must not abdicate its position as the party of principle. That it might do so by nominating a candidate for President who endorses the government's right to tax us, and even advocates taxation, is a clear and present danger. The only way to protect LP integrity is to support Rick Tompkins. See his Web page at: http://www.nguworld.com/rick96/. Send contributions NOW to: Rick Tompkins, Libertarian, for President; 8129 N. 35th Ave. #262, Phoenix, AZ 85051.